The Wreck Page #3

"The Wreck," a short story by Guy de Maupassant, explores themes of isolation, despair, and the fragility of human life. Set against the backdrop of a shipwreck, the narrative follows a group of survivors who grapple with their dire circumstances while confronting their innermost fears and desires. Maupassant's masterful prose delves into the psychological complexities of the characters, revealing their vulnerabilities and the existential dilemmas that arise in the face of disaster. The story ultimately highlights the unpredictable nature of fate and the profound impact of crisis on the human spirit.

								


“The night fell as swiftly as the ocean rose--a lowering, wet, icy
night.

“I said:

“'There's nothing to do but to stay on the ship:

“The Englishman answered:

“'Oh, yes!'

“And we waited there a quarter of an hour, half an hour, indeed I don't
know how long, watching that creeping water growing deeper as it
swirled around us, as though it were playing on the beach, which it had
regained.

“One of the young girls was cold, and we went below to shelter ourselves
from the light but freezing wind that made our skins tingle.

“I leaned over the hatchway. The ship was full of water. So we had to
cower against the stern planking, which shielded us a little.

“Darkness was now coming on, and we remained huddled together. I felt
the shoulder of the little English girl trembling against mine, her
teeth chattering from time to time. But I also felt the gentle warmth of
her body through her ulster, and that warmth was as delicious to me as
a kiss. We no longer spoke; we sat motionless, mute, cowering down
like animals in a ditch when a hurricane is raging. And, nevertheless,
despite the night, despite the terrible and increasing danger, I began
to feel happy that I was there, glad of the cold and the peril, glad of
the long hours of darkness and anguish that I must pass on this plank so
near this dainty, pretty little girl.

“I asked myself, 'Why this strange sensation of well-being and of joy?'

“Why! Does one know? Because she was there? Who? She, a little unknown
English girl? I did not love her, I did not even know her. And for all
that, I was touched and conquered. I wanted to save her, to sacrifice
myself for her, to commit a thousand follies! Strange thing! How does it
happen that the presence of a woman overwhelms us so? Is it the power of
her grace which enfolds us? Is it the seduction of her beauty and youth,
which intoxicates one like wine?

“Is it not rather the touch of Love, of Love the Mysterious, who seeks
constantly to unite two beings, who tries his strength the instant he
has put a man and a woman face to face?

“The silence of the darkness became terrible, the stillness of the sky
dreadful, because we could hear vaguely about us a slight, continuous
sound, the sound of the rising tide and the monotonous plashing of the
water against the ship.

“Suddenly I heard the sound of sobs. The youngest of the girls was
crying. Her father tried to console her, and they began to talk in their
own tongue, which I did not understand. I guessed that he was reassuring
her and that she was still afraid.

“I asked my neighbor:

“'You are not too cold, are you, mademoiselle?'

“'Oh, yes. I am very cold.'

“I offered to give her my cloak; she refused it.

“But I had taken it off and I covered her with it against her will. In
the short struggle her hand touched mine. It made a delicious thrill run
through my body.

“For some minutes the air had been growing brisker, the dashing of the
water stronger against the flanks of the ship. I raised myself; a great
gust of wind blew in my face. The wind was rising!

“The Englishman perceived this at the same time that I did and said
simply:

“'This is bad for us, this----'

“Of course it was bad, it was certain death if any breakers, however
feeble, should attack and shake the wreck, which was already so
shattered and disconnected that the first big sea would carry it off.

“So our anguish increased momentarily as the squalls grew stronger and
stronger. Now the sea broke a little, and I saw in the darkness white
lines appearing and disappearing, lines of foam, while each wave struck
the Marie Joseph and shook her with a short quiver which went to our
hearts.

“The English girl was trembling. I felt her shiver against me. And I had
a wild desire to take her in my arms.

“Down there, before and behind us, to the left and right, lighthouses
were shining along the shore--lighthouses white, yellow and red,
revolving like the enormous eyes of giants who were watching us, waiting
eagerly for us to disappear. One of them in especial irritated me. It
went out every thirty seconds and it lit up again immediately. It was
indeed an eye, that one, with its lid incessantly lowered over its fiery
glance.

“From time to time the Englishman struck a match to see the hour; then
he put his watch back in his pocket. Suddenly he said to me, over the
heads of his daughters, with tremendous gravity:

“'I wish you a happy New Year, Mosieu.'

“It was midnight. I held out my hand, which he pressed. Then he said
something in English, and suddenly he and his daughters began to sing
'God Save the Queen,' which rose through the black and silent air and
vanished into space.

“At first I felt a desire to laugh; then I was seized by a powerful,
strange emotion.

“It was something sinister and superb, this chant of the shipwrecked,
the condemned, something like a prayer and also like something grander,
something comparable to the ancient 'Ave Caesar morituri te salutant.'

“When they had finished I asked my neighbor to sing a ballad alone,
anything she liked, to make us forget our terrors. She consented, and
immediately her clear young voice rang out into the night. She sang
something which was doubtless sad, because the notes were long drawn out
and hovered, like wounded birds, above the waves.

“The sea was rising now and beating upon our wreck. As for me, I thought
only of that voice. And I thought also of the sirens. If a ship had
passed near by us what would the sailors have said? My troubled spirit
lost itself in the dream! A siren! Was she not really a siren, this
daughter of the sea, who had kept me on this worm-eaten ship and who was
soon about to go down with me deep into the waters?

“But suddenly we were all five rolling on the deck, because the Marie
Joseph had sunk on her right side. The English girl had fallen upon me,
and before I knew what I was doing, thinking that my last moment was
come, I had caught her in my arms and kissed her cheek, her temple and
her hair.

“The ship did not move again, and we, we also, remained motionless.

“The father said, 'Kate!' The one whom I was holding answered 'Yes' and
made a movement to free herself. And at that moment I should have wished
the ship to split in two and let me fall with her into the sea.

“The Englishman continued:

“'A little rocking; it's nothing. I have my three daughters safe.'

“Not having seen the oldest, he had thought she was lost overboard!

“I rose slowly, and suddenly I made out a light on the sea quite close
to us. I shouted; they answered. It was a boat sent out in search of us
by the hotelkeeper, who had guessed at our imprudence.

“We were saved. I was in despair. They picked us up off our raft and
they brought us back to Saint-Martin.

“The Englishman began to rub his hand and murmur:

“'A good supper! A good supper!'

“We did sup. I was not gay. I regretted the Marie Joseph.

“We had to separate the next day after much handshaking and many
promises to write. They departed for Biarritz. I wanted to follow them.
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